On May 8, the official signing ceremony for Germany's unconditional surrender was held in Karlshorst, a suburb of Berlin.
Entrusted by Dönitz, the heir to the moustache, representatives of the German High Command, Marshal Keitel, Admiral Stuumpfer, and Admiral Frederburg, went to the cafeteria hall of the Berlin Academy of Military Engineering to report to the Soviet Union.
and representatives of the Allied Powers formally signed an instrument of unconditional surrender.
Marshal Keitel, who entered the hall, raised his scepter and saluted the senior officials of the Soviet Union and the Allied Forces sitting opposite. But what was embarrassing was that the old Marshal's move fell on deaf ears. No one paid any attention to it.
He responded.
Marshal Keitel had an embarrassed expression on his face, but he still sat obediently on the seat reserved for him by the Soviet and Allied forces, and looked down at the unconditional surrender letter handed to him by the other party.
The translator standing nearby waited for Keitel to finish reading the contents of the surrender document, and then asked: "Marshal Keitel, have you read it?"
"Yes, I have finished reading." A look of disdain appeared on Keitel's cold face: "Can you sign now?"
The translator glanced at Zhukov and the allied generals opposite, then nodded and said: "Yes, Marshal Keitel, you can sign now."
In fact, on May 7, Jodl, on behalf of Germany, formally signed an unconditional surrender document at the Allied Western Front Command in Reims, France. However, since the Allied representatives participating in the signing ceremony were all senior generals, the Soviet Union
The military representative was only a major general, so Stalin did not approve of the surrender ceremony. In his view, the Soviet Union was the main force fighting the German army. The Soviet army liberated Berlin only after paying huge sacrifices, so it should
The Soviet side came to preside over the surrender ceremony, and the surrender ceremony held in Reims obviously did not count.
Faced with the Soviet Union's tough attitude, the Allied top brass agreed to this request after consultation. The Germans, as the losers, did not have any say. It is precisely because of this that the surrender signature was signed in the suburbs of Berlin today.
ceremony.
Germany signed two surrender documents in two days. This was a great humiliation for Marshal Keitel. When he signed, he was even considering whether he should surrender to Mustache, Goebbels and Kleb
Si learns and uses his own blood to wash away the shame.
Sokov was not able to participate in the battle to attack Berlin, which was a huge regret for him. Today, the Germans were attending the signing of the surrender ceremony in the suburbs of Berlin, and he was not qualified to go, which had to make him feel terrible.
It was a huge regret. But when he thought that not only could he not be present at the surrender ceremony, but Rokossovsky, the commander of the front army, was also not qualified to go to Berlin, he felt much more at ease.
"Misha." Lunev said to Sokov: "The chief of staff has been in Berlin for three or four days, why hasn't he come back yet?"
"He didn't call back, and I don't know the specific reason."
"I wonder if he took advantage of his trip to Berlin to visit his son to participate in today's surrender signing ceremony."
"Probably not." Sokov said: "Even our commander, Marshal Rokossovsky, is not qualified to participate in the ceremony, let alone a small staff officer like Sidorin."
"He may not be able to enter the signing site." Lunev said with a half-smile: "But there should be no problem staying outside the signing site. I think he should have the opportunity to meet the German general who signed the surrender document.
How did I enter the signing ceremony arrogantly, and how did I come out dejected?"
"Perhaps only after the chief of staff returns, we will know whether he took the opportunity to go to the signing ceremony."
"It's such a pity for Chuikov." Lunev suddenly thought of Chuikov, and shook his head and said: "I was not injured early, but I was not injured late. But just the day before the Germans surrendered, he was shot by a cold gun, causing him to even have a sneak attack.
I can’t even attend. It’s a pity, it’s a pity, it’s such a pity.”
"Hey, there is no way, this is everyone's fate." Sokov said with a wry smile: "It stands to reason that if Comrade Marshal is still in the First Front, then the honor of commanding the troops to capture Berlin belongs to him. As a result, we arrived
So far, there is no chance to enter Berlin. If anyone is the unluckiest person in this war, I am afraid it must be Marshal Rokossovsky."
"Misha, this is actually normal." Luniev said: "Rokossovsky is of Polish descent. Think about it, how could the Supreme Commander himself give such an important honor of winning Berlin to someone who is not a real Russian?
Where are the people?”
"That's true." Sokov has a deep understanding of this matter. If Rokossovsky hadn't been half Polish, he might have been able to stay in the First Front and personally command the troops to liberate Berlin. If that were true.
In this way, even if the 48th Army under his command cannot be the first to enter Berlin, it can still become the main force in seizing the Reichstag: "I really didn't expect that his bloodline determined that he would not have the honor of liberating Berlin."
The phone on the table rang. Sokov reached out and grabbed the receiver, put it to his ear and said, "I am Sokov, where are you?"
"Comrade Commander, I am Ivanov, Commander of the 6th Guards Division." The voice of Ivanov, Commander of the 6th Guards Division came from the receiver: "I have something important to report to you."
"Comrade Commander, if you have any questions, just tell me."
"The soldiers of our division were ordered to arrest Nazis in the city." Ivanov reported: "After a whole morning of hard work, we arrested a total of 195 people. I want to ask how to deal with these damn Nazis.
Woolen cloth?"
"First find a place to detain them all," Sokov said: "Then we will send people to screen them. If they are found to have committed serious crimes, they can be shot directly."
"How to screen?" Ivanov was not interested in the screening, so he proposed his idea to Sokov: "Otherwise, shoot them all. This will save trouble."
"No, Comrade Commander." Sokov rejected Ivanov's proposal without hesitation: "We are the liberators of Germany, not the destroyers. Of course, there are many Nazis who were captured by you.
There are die-hards, but there are also some who were forced to join the Nazis for some special reasons. For such people, as long as they have not done any bad things, I think they can be let go as soon as possible."
Before putting down the phone, Sokov specially warned: "By the way, comrade division commander, remember to give me a list of arrested persons. I want to see who is in it."
An hour later, Ivanov sent someone to deliver a roster, which recorded in detail the names, identities and places of work of the captured Nazis.
Sokov took a quick look and found that most of these people were intellectuals, engineers, teachers, clergy, etc. He knew that the reason why these people joined the Nazis was that, except for a few fanatics, most of them joined the Nazis.
It was all out of necessity or it was a trend at the time. They would not have any major problems. After being detained for a few days, they could all be released.
Just when Sokov was about to close the roster, he suddenly saw a familiar name: John Rabe, born in Hamburg, Germany, a representative of Siemens and a businessman.
He quickly picked up the roster and checked the other party's information carefully, and found that except for his name, identity and place of origin, there was no other information.
After putting down the roster, he picked up the phone and called the 6th Guards Division directly. As soon as he heard Ivanov's voice, he said straight to the point: "Comrade Commander, I want to ask about the Nazis you captured.
There is a man named John Rabe here, where is he being held now?”
The commanders and fighters of the 6th Guards Division arrested nearly two hundred people. As the division commander, Ivanov was not too concerned about this matter. How could he possibly know who Sokov was talking about? He was silent for a moment, and then tentatively asked
Question: "Comrade Commander, do you know this person?"
"I don't know this person." Sokov replied, which was true. He had indeed heard of Rabe's name in later generations, but he had never seen him in person. If he hadn't happened to see the arrest list, he would have almost missed it.
Such a great person. In order to make his intervention seem logical, he deliberately brought Chuikov in: "But as far as I know, General Chuikov has a good relationship with him. If he knew that he was captured by my troops, he would definitely
You called me to settle the account."
What Sokov said was not nonsense. After the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War, both Chuikov and Rabe spent some time in Jinling. In addition, the Soviet Union and Germany were in the honeymoon period at that time, so the two knew each other well.
It seems logical.
When he learned that one of the people arrested by his subordinates was an old friend of General Chuikov, Ivanov seemed uneasy. He knew very well that in fact, there were not only as many Nazis arrested as he reported, but also
Some die-hards had been killed because they were arrested during the arrest. He was worried that the person Sokov asked was no longer alive at this time, so he quickly said: "Comrade Commander, I am not sure whether the person you are talking about is."
Among the people we arrested. If you give me two hours, I will definitely figure it out."
"I can only give you twenty minutes." Sokov noticed something was wrong when he looked at the roster sent by Ivanov. There were at least 230 people on it, but the other party told him that only 195 people were arrested.
, the other thirty or so people must have been dealt with privately by the other party. Therefore, Sokov is eager to find out whether Mr. Rabe is still alive at this moment? "When the time is up, I hope to hear an accurate answer."
"Okay, Comrade Commander." Seeing Sokov's tough attitude, Ivanov could only bite the bullet and reply: "I will find out his whereabouts within 20 minutes."
Seeing Sokov put down the phone, Runev asked curiously: "Misha, why are you so interested in this German named Rabe?"
Faced with Lunev's question, Sokov hesitated for a moment, and then replied: "Comrade Military Commissar, I heard that when this man was in Jinling in China, he happened to encounter Japanese pirates who occupied that city and began to massacre the city.
residents. Rabe used his identity as a German to establish a safe zone, housing more than 200,000 people, and protecting them from the persecution of Japanese pirates. I just heard about his deeds and wanted to meet him."
"Oh, so that's it." Lunev was obviously not interested in Rabe and just said lightly: "But how do you know that he knows General Chuikov?"
"The reason is very simple." Sokov only knew that Chuikov was the military attache and general military adviser to China during the Chinese Anti-Japanese War, so he naturally believed that the two should know each other. So he explained to Lunev: "Cuikov is going
When Dongfang served as military general adviser, Mr. Rabe happened to be in that country, so isn't it normal for the two of them to know each other?"
"In what year was the massacre you mentioned?" Lunev asked suddenly and unexpectedly.
"December 13, 1937." Sokov said without hesitation that day that was unforgettable to all Chinese people: "The Japanese pirates massacred 300,000 soldiers and civilians in Jinling, turning a beautiful city into a hell on earth."
"That's not right." Unexpectedly, Lunev shook his head after hearing this and said: "As far as I know, Chuikov went to that ancient country in the east twice. The first time was from 27 to 29 years. After returning to China, he served as
The post of director of the Red Flag Far East Special Group Army Headquarters; the second time was from December 1940 to March 42. Shortly after returning to China, he was appointed deputy commander of the 1st Army of the Reserve Front. In Stalingrad
After the defense war broke out, the unit was reorganized into the 64th Army. Soon after, Chuikov was appointed commander of the 62nd Army, responsible for commanding the troops remaining in Stalingrad and fighting tenaciously against the enemies attacking the city. You
I was working under him at the time, so I should be very familiar with this experience."
After Lunev said this, Sokov realized that he had made a stupid mistake. He always thought that Chuikov and Rabe had both stayed in the ancient Eastern country, so they should know each other. But now he knows that the two of them
There is no intersection at all, I just take it for granted.
Fortunately, Lunev did not get entangled in this matter, but said magnanimously: "But even if Chuikov does not know this Mr. Rabe, he can use his personal influence to establish a huge safe zone.
He still deserves our respect for saving hundreds of thousands of lives. If he is really arrested by our commanders and fighters because of his identity, I think we should give him some slack and let him go."
"You are right, Comrade Military Commissar." Sokov felt relieved when he heard what Luniev said. "We should give preferential treatment to such people."
"Speaking of Chuikov, I remembered one thing." Lunev waited for Sokov to finish and then said to himself: "When Chuikov was in China, he established a good relationship of trust with the American and French military attachés stationed in China.
, he analyzed the information obtained from all aspects and came to the conclusion that the main strategic intention of the Japanese pirates was to go south, not north, thus allowing the Supreme Command to make a decision to continuously transfer troops from the Far East to the western front.
, blocked the German army from rushing towards Moscow."
Hearing what Runev said, Sokov couldn't help but be startled, and thought to himself: Could it be that the legendary agent Richard Sorge had not provided the news that the Japanese pirates were not planning to go north? Why did it become Chuikov's?
Where is the credit? But it was okay for him to think about this kind of thing in his mind, but he couldn't say it out loud. After all, the existence of Sorge was the top secret among top secrets. Even the Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Internal Affairs like Lunev didn't know about it, and he himself
How can we know of his existence?
"Misha," Lunev changed the subject in time: "I heard that you plan to go to the Far East to participate in the battle against Japanese pirates. Is this true or false?"
"Of course it is true, Comrade Military Commissar." In front of Lunev, Sokov felt that he was not telling lies, so he replied truthfully: "I have discussed it with Marshal Rokossovsky and Marshal Zhukov.
I have said hello, and I hope they can recommend me to the Supreme Command to participate in this final battle."